Leadership Transformation

Updating mental operating systems

New worlds cannot be shaped with the Old World Order. If board members and management do not reflect and adapt their perceptions, values, drivers and thus their behavior – especially when they come under pressure – fancy watchwords such as agility, diversity, New Work or sustainability are pointless. 

For change initiatives to be successful, not only do the new values and ways of working together that are described in PowerPoints, brochures and websites need to be understood and addressed on an intellectual level, but the psychosocial dynamics in the team must be grasped and managed in a targeted manner as well. 

In today's world, focusing purely on the factual level is no longer sufficient: high performers also expect their managers and colleagues to understand and positively shape the emotional impact of their decisions and behaviour on the relationship level. If these expectations are not met, then it is becomes very difficult to attract or retain talented individuals. We also need to remember that a relationship breakdown is the sand in the gears of any organisation and that it can have a massive impact on productivity. 

There remains a lot of untapped potential for managers to shape the factual and the relationship level simultaneously in order to become even more successful and also more satisfied themselves. After all, focusing purely on the factual level would be like having only one leg: in the long term it would be exhausting, even for experienced employees, and it would simply go against the grain of human nature.

 

 

GROWTH

How we can support you

Within the framework of development programmes (workshops and coaching sessions), we accompany board members/managing directors and their teams as they discover new ways to be successful as international and diverse hybrid teams. We encourage them to communicate openly and honestly, to produce innovative and outstanding results, to focus, to ignite the joy of performance, to make a meaningful contribution to the company and society, to be recognised as individuals, to develop themselves and, at the same time, to be able to reconcile work and family life.
Updating your mental operating system involves examining the impact of your values, beliefs and behavioural patterns, then perhaps adjusting them, harnessing emotions and actively shaping relationships in order to develop into the person you would most like to work with yourself.
This is a lengthy and not always enjoyable process, which in a world of instant fixes, projects and initiatives, might not necessarily be your preferred way of spending your time. Let’s draw a comparison with watching Netflix versus doing sport: the former enables you to relax instantly without having to make any effort – but only fleetingly. Team transformation, on the other hand, is an investment that pays off both in the short term and for a long time to come.

 

 

WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?

The relationship between vision, mission and values, and corporate culture

Visions, missions and values are fundamental, especially nowadays: an increasing number of employees want to see meaning in their work, to make a contribution to society and to identify with their company’s values. The classic corporate goals, such as growth and success, are no longer attractive. With an emotionally compelling vision, a social mission and values with which people can identify, a company can gain a competitive edge when it comes to attracting customers and high-performing employees.

And in these hectic and volatile times, a vision, like a North Star, can provide the orientation needed to clearly determine strategies and stay on track. A good vision inspires and offers people a clear raison d’ être, engaging them and enabling them to mobilise energy even in challenging times. 

Using a well-structured process, we can help you, alongside other stakeholders of your company, to formulate a vision, mission and values that correspond to your corporate DNA and your company’s prospects, have emotional appeal and can be firmly anchored in everyday business life.

WHAT CAN YOU DO IMMEDIATELY?

Executive Coaching

In order to interact effectively, it is necessary to start the transformation journey by looking at yourself, the ego: clarifying your own identity, exploring your values and beliefs and becoming familiar with your own patterns of perception and behaviour, then modifying them in a results-oriented way, is an exciting and rewarding experience. It is also the key to a meaningful and enjoyable life – both professionally and privately. Having a companion in the form of a coach who not only gives feedback, but more importantly asks the right questions and provides insights is a powerful catalyst for the individual transformation process.

 

Team workshops

These workshops provide a platform of trust and goodwill where members of the leadership team, as guardians of the system, can align themselves to form a community of shared values. Here, they work both with and for each other and act as role models for all other teams. We follow the principle of working “from up-set to set-up”, enabling participants to come to terms with the current situation, to put the past behind them and to generate the energy needed to move forward in the new direction. At the same time, the leadership team learns that conflicts are a normal and healthy part of a corporate culture, and practices finding solutions based on goodwill that do justice to all concerned. During this process, we also explain systemic topics – these provide clarity from outside, which is then internalized by the team and its individual members, helping to engender inner calm.

Here, a culture survey is particularly useful for identifying current and desired values and behaviors and it can be used as a springboard for targeted discussion.

WHO COMES ALONG?

Choosing the right people

Taking your existing team on a transformation journey requires considerable time and energy, so it is wise to make sure that new recruits, especially managers, are a good fit with the company's culture already during the interview process. The rule "hire attitude, teach skills" may be common sense these days, but it is by no means common practice. So how can you ascertain an applicant’s real mindset and values and, in particular, determine how they perform under pressure? Everyone wants to make a good impression and top managers especially are trained in rhetoric and to give textbook answers.

While large corporations have been working with extensive assessment processes for many years, recruitment in medium-sized companies is still often based on professional skills, likeability, making a good impression or "I know someone". The consequences of the latter are often cultural devastation in the team, a lot of unrest and considerable costs when a new starter leaves after only a few months.

We can support you in finding the right requirements for the different roles, tasks and teams within your company. An initial HOGAN ASSESSMENT will indicate where there might be discrepancies. This will enable us to dig deeper in a multimodal interview and then to jointly compare observations that will help you to make well-informed decisions.